REVIEW: There are seemingly two Guy Ritchie’s making movies today. One is the Guy Ritchie who rose to fame off the one-two punch of LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH, while the other is the more polished, blockbuster Guy Ritchie who did SHERLOCK HOLMES, KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD and ALADDIN. Never the twain shall meet, except maybe in THE MAN FROM UNCLE, which married both styles into something that went unappreciated during its short theatrical run.
THE GENTLEMEN is unabashedly a throw-back to the old Guy Ritchie, although the caveat should be this version of the director was never infallible, with SWEPT AWAY and REVOLVER both pretty big misfires, while ROCKNROLLA barely made a peep, even if it was a more than decent crime flick. THE GENTLEMEN is a return to form for that Guy Ritchie, with it as funny and frenetic as his early gangster classics, helped along by a deft tone that allows it to be constantly amusing without sacrificing a real undercurrent of threat. And, of course, there’s his cast, which may be the best he’s ever assembled outside of SNATCH.
Matthew McConaughey probably doesn’t seem like the normal lead for a British gangster flick, but that’s the point. He’s an expatriate American ill at odds in his adopted home country, making his wish to cash in his chips seem more relatable. He’s the straight-man to this rogues gallery, with his motivations grounded by one thing – his love for his cockney wife, played by Michelle Dockery in a major change of pace (Lady Mary would be horrified by the rough and tumble dialogue – which she takes to like a duck to water).
In some ways though, McConaughey isn’t the star. Charlie Hunnam has the juiciest role, as his ever-loyal number two, who has to keep all of his ducks in a row despite his growing distaste for all the folks he has to deal with. Hunnam gets treated pretty roughly by critics at times, but when he’s cast well he tends to nail his parts, and he’s got a great role to play here as the nattily attired Raymond. He’s matched by a scene-stealing Hugh Grant as Fletcher, the low-class tabloid journalist, giving him the chance to poke fun at one of his most hated adversaries (Grant has gone to war with the tabloids over and over). He seems to relish playing unseemly types with this building on the flair for character-based comedy he showed-off in PADDINGTON 2. Had his career gone a different way, he might have been more at ease as a Peter Sellers type than a romantic lead. He plays to his strengths here.
Everyone else is similarly good, with Jeremy Strong camping it up as the effeminate American drug lord McConaughey wants to sell to, while Golding as fun playing a baddie. Of them all, the one who mercilessly steals scenes is Colin Farrell as the rough and tumble boxing coach at a local gym who gets roped into the action to save the hides of a few of his young wards. He’s an intensely likable, convincingly badass, and seems like such a natural for Guy Ritchie’s world it’s insane this is their first time working together. He has a real knack for infusing these roles with heart (like in the now-classic IN BRUGES) and raises everyone’s game throughout.
It’s all complemented by an initially confusing narrative in the classic Guy Ritchie style that settles down early-on and pays off big time in the climax which pulls it all together. Devotees of his work will notice recurring motifs, such as his frequent call-outs to the gangster classic THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, which must have been a formative film for him. He seems passionate about the material, and as such, it’s Ritchie’s strongest work since THE MAN FROM UNCLE. It’s proof that even if he’s gone Hollywood, his heart still seems to be with the lads from across the pond.